Honda Element Center Console Cooler on 2040-parts.com

Fiat and Chrysler get in to bed together

Before Christmas the CEO of Fiat was reported as saying that he believed that the current malaise in the car market (and any other market, for that matter) would result in the rationalisation of the industry, and see just a handful of big players come out the other side. His words now seem prescient, as it has been announced today that Fiat and Chrysler have effectively entered in to a partnership. Fiat takes a 35% stake in Chrysler The partnership, with Fiat taking 35% of Chrysler, means a number of benefits for both companies.

CDN-GM/PATAC Interactive Design Contest 2013 launched

After the overwhelming success of its European and North American interactive design competitions, GM and Car Design News are excited to announce the launch of their first competition exclusively for the Chinese market, the CDN–GM/PATAC Interactive Design Competition China. According to Bryan Nesbitt, Vice President of Design at GM International Operations, "We are excited about the potential regarding a China-dedicated competition. Design is the initial product differentiator in the automotive retail space, so demand for top design talent will continue." This is a great opportunity for young designers who are currently enrolled as students of Chinese universities to showcase their work on a global stage.

We're Getting More MPG

The average car/truck/SUV sold by the top eight brands in America makes almost one mile per gallon more than it did a year ago, according to sales-weighted data from the industry analysts at TrueCar. TrueCar's TrueMPG industry average of 23.7 mpg remains the highest the car market has seen, 0.7-mpg higher than at this time last year. The biggest gainers by brand are Nissan and Chrysler, which improved their fleets by 1.1 mpg over last year's numbers.